Get Your
Group Ready

The Theme

God's Call Is Personal, Powerful, and Purposeful

IGNITE 2027 invites young people to discover that they are called — not forgotten, not random, not without purpose. God knows each person by name and calls them into a life of relationship, transformation, and mission.

Before God calls us to do anything, God calls us into relationship. We are known by name, claimed by grace, and invited into God's mission. Through worship, teaching, fellowship, and spiritual formation, youth will discover what it means to abide with Christ, be shaped by the Holy Spirit, and partner with God in bringing hope to the world.

• A call is personal — it begins with relationship.
• A call is powerful — it transforms who we are.
• A call is purposeful — it sends us to partner with God in the world.

The three movements of the weekend

Known. Changed. Sent. That's the shorthand — one word for each movement. Known is the personal call, changed is the powerful one, sent is the purposeful one.

01

Lock Your Rate

The best price is the one available right now. Registering ten students in October instead of January keeps $200 in your ministry budget.

Online registration is open through Friday, January 8, 2027.

Register before your roster is final

• Estimate how many students and leaders will come and register them at today's rate. You can add tickets any time, and tickets are final once purchased, so estimate honestly and lock the savings.
• Scholarships are available. Apply early — scholarship funds are limited and awarded until they run out.

02

Safe Gatherings First

Make sure your youth ministry team is prepared for the year ahead. Through Safe Gatherings, non-clergy applicants complete required background and reference checks plus online abuse prevention and boundary awareness training. Start here — it takes longer than anything else in this guide, and it protects every other plan you make.

• Pull your roster of adults. Every adult traveling or supervising — chaperones, drivers, and the parent meeting you there — needs current Safe Gatherings certification, which includes a background check.
• Check expiration dates now. Certification is valid for three years, so anyone approved before January 2024 is due again.
• Budget four to six weeks. Background and reference checks clear on someone else's timeline.
• Enroll uncertified adults this month. Send the link with a deadline, then follow up. A friendly reminder is what turns an intention into a certificate.
• Drivers need one thing more: a motor vehicle record check, on top of their Safe Gatherings certification.
• Keep documentation. Save certificates in one folder. Your church and the conference may both ask.
• Ready to get started? Contact the Safe Gatherings Team at contact@SafeGatherings.com or 888-241-8258, and tell them you are part of the Baltimore-Washington Conference so your $19 rate is applied.
• Ask your church office for a printed copy of your Safe Sanctuaries and insurance policies and read them before you build your roster or your room chart. If your church office doesn't have them, your district office can point you to them.

Recruiting adults

• Draw from current servant leaders, young adults 21 and older, and parents of youth.
• Confirm your required adult-to-youth ratio before you set your student roster.
• Confirm how many adults your policy requires per hotel room, and build the room chart around the policy first.

03

Your Church's Own Paperwork

IGNITE registration is for the conference. You are responsible for building your church's trip packet, and the checklist below can help. Be kind to yourself by building it early.

What your packet should include

• Parent/guardian permission to attend
• Medical information
• Medication policy and permission-to-dispense form
• Anything else your church insurance requires for overnight trips
• Packing list — including a reusable water bottle and spending money
• Departure and expected return times
• Hotel address, Event Venue address, and a list of leaders with cell numbers, for parents

Set a due date two weeks before departure. That buffer gives you time to chase late paperwork calmly.

Your church's forms stay with you all weekend. A two-gallon zip bag inside your backpack works well: forms, insurance card copies, and medications, carried to every session.

Also gather from your church

• A copy of the church's insurance policy. Your insurance agent may ask for the number of youth and adults attending and your lodging and event addresses.
• A printed tax-exemption form — have it ready at hotel check-in.
• A cash advance or church card for gas, tolls, and approved meals. Bring one envelope and put every receipt in it.

04

Where to Stay

Book lodging directly with the hotel or rental. January is Ocean City's quiet season, which usually works in your favor on rate — and the properties nearest the Event Venue fill with IGNITE groups first, so reserve early.

Event Venue: Roland E. Powell Convention Center, 4001 Coastal Highway, Ocean City, Maryland 21842.

Hotels near the Event Venue

Call directly and mention the IGNITE Conference. Watch IGNITEforYouth.com for 2027 rates and any negotiated block.

Ocean City also has a deep supply of Airbnb and VRBO properties, and for larger groups a rental house with a kitchen often wins on both cost and food logistics. The Baltimore-Washington and Peninsula-Delaware Conferences do not endorse and are not affiliated with Airbnb or VRBO. Book at your own discretion.

Ask these five questions before you book

• Tax exemption. Many hotels process tax-exempt bookings in advance only. Say you're booking as a nonprofit at the start of the call so there's time to send forms.
• Parking. How many spaces per room, and is there overflow nearby?
• Occupancy. How many people will they allow per room?
• Allergies. Request a clean or a swap of pillows and bedding materials for students who need it.
• Food storage. If you're preparing meals, ask for a kitchen and a full-size refrigerator. Confirm before you send a deposit.

Before you send the deposit

• Room chart drafted in alignment with your Safe Sanctuaries policy
• Cancellation deadline written on your calendar
• Deposit cleared with your treasurer
• One extra room reserved — releasing a room is easy

05

Getting There, Getting Around

Decide transportation in the fall. Drivers, insurance, and vehicles all take longer to arrange than anyone expects.

Route and weather

• Most groups come across either the US-50 or MD-90 bridges. Build in extra time for either.
• Make a winter plan. January on the Eastern Shore brings its own conditions. Decide who makes the weather call, when they make it, and how families hear about it. Put that in writing in December so every family knows the plan before they need it.

06

Feeding Your Group

Plan to provide meals for your group all weekend: Friday dinner; Saturday breakfast, lunch, and dinner; Sunday breakfast — plus Sunday lunch if you're driving far.

Pick a model early and tell families which one

• Hybrid. Students buy their own on travel days (Friday dinner, Sunday lunch); your church covers Saturday meals and Sunday breakfast from collected funds or the youth budget. Most groups land here.
• All meals covered by your church. Simplest for families, and the heaviest lift on your budget and prep time.
• Students cover their own meals. Lowest impact on your budget, and every student needs real spending money. Give families the actual number up front so the plan stays affordable for everyone.

Ask the congregation to feed them

A food donation list in the bulletin turns a budget line into a way for the whole church to participate. Match your list to the refrigerator and kitchen you actually booked — shelf-stable items travel far better than a tray of lasagna.

Keep allergies in view when you choose donations, and check labels again when the food arrives.

Places that typically stay open year round

Starter list — verify January hours as you build your plan. PrimoHoagies · Über Bagels & Deli · Dumser's Dairyland · The Original Crabcake Factory · AlleyOops Uptown · Food Lion for group groceries. More at ocvisitor.com.

07

When to Arrive & Check-In

Keep an eye on IGNITEforYouth.com for session times and room assignments. In the meantime, plan around the shape of the weekend.

Check-in and parking

• Check-in opens Friday afternoon at the Event Venue front entrance. Attendees receive a wristband that grants access to all IGNITE events — students should wear it all weekend.
• Parking at the Event Venue is free.
• Arrive early to sessions if your group wants to be up close. Every session includes worship and a message, and the front rows go fast.

08

Praying for It

Some time will go to forms, rooms, and rates. Give some to this. Organization gets everyone there; prayer is what makes it more than a trip.

Pray them by name

The theme comes from Isaiah 43:1 — “I have called you by name; you are mine.” (CEB) Let that shape how you pray. Print your roster and pray for one student a day, or for the whole roster in one sitting if your group is large. Not the group in general. The student. What they're carrying into January, what they're hoping for, what they've been afraid to name. Five months of that, and you will walk into Ocean City knowing exactly who you brought.

Recruit a congregation, not just chaperones

• Make a name card for each student. Their name on the front, Isaiah 43:1 on the back. Invite members of the congregation to take a name and pray for that student through January. The same cards do double duty as a fundraiser — see Called by Name in Section 09.
• Recruit the people who will never ride in the van — the eighty-year-old in the third pew, the person who runs the food pantry, the men's breakfast group. Give them a name and a date to pray.
• Ask each prayer partner to send one note before January. A student who gets a handwritten card from someone at church learns something about belonging that no session can teach.

Pray for the ones still deciding

• The student who says they're busy. The family weighing the cost. The young person in your building waiting to be asked.
• Pray for the unchurched teenager who is somebody's friend and has never been invited. Encourage their friend to invite them.

Pray for your adults — and for yourself

• Chaperones carry more than luggage. They sit with the crying kid at midnight and drive home on little sleep. Name them the way you name students.
• Ask one person to pray specifically for you, by name, from now until you're home. Let this be the year someone covers you the way you cover everyone else.

Build a rhythm you'll actually keep

• Fall: once a month, pray through the full roster in one sitting.
• Advent: once a week with your chaperone team, even if it's five minutes on a group call.
• The last ten days: a few students a day — and tell them you did it.

Pray with families

• Close your parent meeting in prayer, out loud, over the students by name. Parents entrust you with their children for three days. Let them hear how you hold them.
• IGNITE speakers will focus on how being Called is personal, powerful, and purposeful. Send families three prompts framed the same way: pray that your child comes home knowing I am known by God, God is still working in us, and God can use us to make a difference.

Send them from your own sanctuary

The Sunday before you head to Ocean City, call the students forward during worship. Lay hands on them. Have the congregation speak a blessing over them out loud. It costs three minutes of a service and does what a van ride cannot: it tells your students that God is sending them, and that this congregation is standing behind them.

Prepare them for prayer at IGNITE

• Saturday night includes an extended prayer time. Tell your students in advance what it will look like, that people will pray with them, and that saying “not tonight” is always welcome.
• If blessing or anointing is offered, explain what each one means before you get there, so students can step toward it with clarity and confidence.
• A room is set aside for prayer and reflection. Point it out to your group on Friday, before anyone needs it.
• Pray for the Emerging Voices cohort. Three young people will stand up Saturday morning and preach to your students. Their names post at IGNITEforYouth.com once the cohort is selected — pray for them by name too. Nominations and applications are open through Thursday, October 15 at this form.

Keep praying after

A young person who says yes on Saturday night needs somewhere to say yes again the next week. Plan the follow-up before you head to Ocean City, and pray them into it. The weekend is the spark. The months following are where it catches.

09

Paying for It

Money is the most solvable barrier between a student and this weekend. Start in the fall and every family can say yes.

Set your group price first

• Add registration, lodging, food, and travel, then divide. That's your real per-student number — publish it once and hold it.
• Decide early how leaders are covered: folded into student cost, paid by the leaders themselves, covered by the church budget, or offset by a congregational offering. Any of these works well when it's settled in advance.

Called by Name

The strongest fundraiser you can run this year is also the theme. Print a card for each student with their name on it and Isaiah 43:1 (CEB) on the back. Set them out after worship and invite the congregation to take a name, pray for that student through January, and sponsor them. It funds the trip and does something money can't: it tells a young person the church knows their name.

Fall and Advent fundraiser opportunities

Make it easy to give — and easy to ask

• Set up a designated online fund and put the link everywhere. Test it before you publish it.
• Ask a Sunday school class, small group, or family to offer a matching challenge. Matching gifts move people who scroll past appeals.
• Apply for an IGNITE scholarship early.
• Give families a private way to request help — a line on your registration form that reads “I'd like to talk about cost,” or a direct text to you. Asking should never require a conversation in the fellowship hall.
• Ask your church to build a youth conference line into next year's budget. Fundraising is good; sustainability is better.

10

Your Timeline

One push per month. Do these in order and January stays calm.

11

Before Heading to Ocean City

A short list you can hand to a co-leader.

12

Build the Hype

Students who arrive already invested get more out of the weekend. Five months of small moments beats one big announcement.

Start with their name

Reach each student individually — a text, a handwritten card, or a note handed to them at youth group, whichever actually reaches them. Sign your name, then give them Isaiah 43:1 — “I have called you by name; you are mine.” (CEB) Nothing else. No logistics attached. It costs you fifteen minutes and lands harder than any flyer, because the theme is a message addressed to them.

Between now and January

• Take them to a Campfire. Three gatherings this fall — worship, games, and a real taste of what's coming. Register for a Campfire here.
• Nominate an Emerging Voice. IGNITE Emerging Voices is looking for emerging communicators ages 16 to 30 with a passion for helping others discover and follow Jesus. No previous speaking experience is required. A small cohort receives coaching and helps bring the featured message during the Saturday morning main session. Who is the young person whose faith, story, and voice others need to hear? Nominate them or apply yourself through Thursday, October 15.
• Ask one question a week. Use the questions youth across the conference submitted, and take five minutes at the end of youth group for each one:
  • How do I hear God's voice?
  • How do I pray when I don't know how?
  • How do I know what God is calling me to do?
  • What if I feel like God is disappointed in me?
  • How do I discover my purpose?
  • How do I begin living out my calling?
• Play the IGNITE playlist at youth group and in the van, or build your own where everybody adds two songs.
• Show them the shirt. This year's event t-shirt is royal blue with the CALLED graffiti design and Isaiah 43:1, available at IGNITE. Post it now — students plan outfits around merch. Designing your own group shirt on top of it is Optional.
• Run a Glow Night at youth group in the fall. Black lights, glow sticks, a preview of Friday.
• Share a teenager's testimonial from last year's event. Ten minutes of a real student describing a real moment beats every promo video.
• Bring-a-friend challenge. That youth in your building has an unchurched friend waiting to be asked.
• Follow along and tag your group — IGNITE for Youth on Facebook, @youngpeopleum on Instagram, and @bwcpdcarea on TikTok. Facebook carries the IGNITE-specific posts year round; TikTok is where the conference-weekend content lives, so point students there in January.

13

Questions Leaders Ask

Questions the rest of this guide doesn't already answer.

Who Comes

Who is IGNITE for?

Students in grades 6–12, young adults ages 19–30, and the pastors, youth leaders, and parents who bring them.

Can I bring younger children?

IGNITE programming is designed for grades 6 and up. Childcare should be utilized through your home church or other means rather than on site, so the weekend stays built for the age group it serves.

Do we have to be United Methodist?

Everyone is welcome. All denominations and no denomination, students and youth groups alike. Bring the group you have.

Can students bring friends who attend other churches or none at all?

Yes — and please do. Same forms, same certified supervision, same welcome. Friends who come along often walk away with the most from the weekend.

Can a young adult come without a group?

Yes. Ages 19–30 can register individually or come with a campus ministry. Point them toward Emerging Voices and the IGNITE Squad while you're at it.

Money

How much spending money should students bring?

Enough for any meals on their own plus merch and the vendor area. Give families a single recommended number so everyone arrives prepared.

Can I cancel a hotel room if my numbers change?

That depends on the property — ask for the cancellation deadline when you book and write it on your calendar the same day. Conference tickets themselves are final once purchased.

The Weekend

What's the food policy at the Event Venue?

Meals happen outside the building. The Roland E. Powell Convention Center asks that outside food stay at the hotel or in the van, so plan to eat before you arrive or during scheduled breaks.

How much do students have to participate in?

Participation is flexible by design. Saturday morning's Mission Project welcomes people as they're able, and workshops are chosen, not assigned. Groups that stay through Saturday afternoon get the most from the weekend and the most connection with youth from other churches.

Is communion open to everyone?

Yes. In The United Methodist Church, the table is Christ's table, not ours — and it is open to all, regardless of age, membership, or whether you have ever received communion before. All students, volunteers, and leaders are invited.

How do we arrange for sensory, mobility, or accessibility needs?

Send the request ahead of time. Quiet-entry options, interpretation, and seating come together beautifully with notice.

—

Stay Connected

• Website — IGNITEforYouth.com
• Facebook — IGNITE for Youth
• Instagram — @youngpeopleum
• TikTok — @bwcpdcarea
• E-connection — sign up here
• YPM newsletter — sign up here

Who to ask

• Registration and payment — Christine Trott, ctrott@pen-del.org
• Scholarships — Natiya Bennett, nbennett@pdcbwc.org
• Accessibility and accommodation requests — Cheryl Cook, ccook@bwcumc.org
• Emerging Voices — Christie Latona, clatona@bwcumc.org; nominate or apply at pdcbwc.jotform.com
• Safe Gatherings certification — contact@SafeGatherings.com or 888-241-8258

Event Venue: Roland E. Powell Convention Center, 4001 Coastal Highway, Ocean City, Maryland 21842
Conference: Friday – Sunday, January 22–24, 2027

Permissions notice: Attendance at the IGNITE Conference grants permission for IGNITE, Next Generation Ministries, and its partners to reproduce your image, likeness, and/or voice for publicly distributed publicity and information.